Henk Vredeling

"politician"  Henk Vredeling   (scientist, puppet leader, deep state operative?)
Born	Hendrikus Vredeling 20 November 1924 Amersfoort, Netherlands
Died	27 October 2007 (Age 82) Huis ter Heide, Netherlands
Nationality	Dutch
Alma mater	Wageningen University
Religion	Atheist
Party	PvdA
Mysterious smuggler between CIA and Israel in the Yom Kippur War. Operated without government knowledge. Officially the connection of the Dutch to the 1973 Oil Crisis.  European Commissioner/Employment and Social Affairs  In office 6 January 1977 - 6 January 1981 Succeeded by Ivor Richard  Netherlands/Defence Minister In office 11 May 1973 - 31 December 1976 Preceded by Henri de Koster  Member of the European Parliament In office 19 March 1958 - 11 May 1973  Netherlands/Member of the House of Representatives In office 6 November 1958 - 11 May 1973

Henk Vredeling was a Dutch agronomist, Dutch Minister of Defence and European Commissioner. He was also a vital smuggler between the CIA and Israel during the early days of the Yom Kippur war. Quite controversial as a politician, he was officially responsible for Dutch involvement of the 1973 oil crisis and allegedly almost attempted a coup against Joop den Uyl as revealed by Dutch gladio-boss Max van der Stoel. Vredeling often crossed paths with deep state operatives.

Background

Vredeling denounced his Christian faith early in his life and was an active agent of the resistance - his last name meaning peace-ling - against the Nazi's during World War 2 in 1944 resulted in getting arrested in 1945. After the war Vredeling became an agronomist at the Wageningen University. From 1950 to 1955, being a skilled consultant and organizer, Vredeling started working in advisory roles for farmers and unions.

Parliament

Vredeling was elected MP for the socialist PvdA-party in 1956, becoming spokesperson for agriculture, a role he held until 1973.

Minister of Defence

Lockheed Martin

Perhaps the most iconic defence minister, Vredeling was surprisingly chosen as defence minister in 1973 in the first cabinet of Joop den Uyl. Vredeling called the appointment "surprising" as he had no experience in any similar roles, was known for his tendency in European meetings to "ask very precise and long questions" and his "allergy to uniforms". Vredeling called the ministry his "prison" as he could not even "separate lieutenants from generals".

In the role of Defence Minister - in the most progressive coalition of all time - Vredeling started acting more erratic every day. Being put there by Den Uyl to cut spending, Vredeling instead came under intense scrutiny from congress for buying the F-16 jet-fighter from General Dynamics in 1975 (that later became Lockheed Martin) arguing of a "very serious threat" from the Soviet Union. When being formally called to question by other MPs of his own party that joined the Dutch peace movement in response to the cold war in their own anti-communist socialist fraction, Vredeling called it the "greatest success" of his term. Fascinatingly enough, Vredeling went missing on the day the contract with the American ambassador, and Dutch-US generals was scheduled to be signed. According to other MPs Vredeling went to Amsterdam with other MPs and Leiden with a member of LSV Minerva. The other members of parliament he was with explained he was "traumatized by the war and didn't want to sign being in a room, standing happily, with several generals." Vredeling did sign - intoxicated that is - after being found after a nationwide-hunt by his secretary. Interestingly enough the members of the PvdA-party requested him in a special session at their member forum to cancel the purchase, at which he staunchly denied any consideration. During this time Vredeling also developed a tendency to give slightly intoxicated interviews to the media.

“Congresses don't buy jet-fighters”
Henk Vredeling (1975) 

Yom Kippur War

Vredeling was revealed in 1973 to have smuggled weapons with the help of Israeli and American military entities to the base of the Dutch Air Force without knowledge of Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs - and later Dutch Operation Gladio-Coordinator Max van der Stoel (who publicly revealed it in parliament) and Prime Minister Den Uyl. Israeli PM Golda Meir was reported to have hugged Den Uyl, up until a point where Vredeling was revealed to be responsible for a vital early role in providing weapons and munitions. The revelation resulted partly in the 1973 Oil Crisis...according to the official narrative. Vredeling defended it by calling for a remembrance of The Holocaust, when newspaper NRC revealed that the Israelis also used the Dutch rivers for specific environmental training, which was later helpful in the Suez canal, massively aiding their knowledge of battling around rivers in the first months.

“My civil servants.. if needed I'll walk over these folks. Max van der Stoel doesn't do that. I decide. Defensive Planning Questions of the NATO I should do myself. NO said Foreign Affairs. They think they can dictate everything. I was so angry. I'm adamantly against that. Baron from here to there, screw them. Max van der Stoel follows them with his mug. He gets 120.000 every year.”
Henk Vredeling (1975) 

European Commission

Vredeling was also part of Joop den Uyl Shadow Cabinet in 1971 and chosen - not elected - to the European Commission from 1958 to 1973, at this point already named Henk "Vrageling" (a Dutch pun on vragen or questioning) for his peculiar tendency to ask long and politically incorrect questions. In the role of Euro-MP he threw an "ashtray through a window aimed at another Dutch EURO-MP who he had an argument with earlier on the day calling him a "bunker-builder", which was not received very well as this MP was held captive by the Japanese during World War 2. Vredeling, short before his death along with three witnesses admitted in 2007 that the ashtray was aimed at President Roy Jenkins for his alleged absence at an earlier meeting. Vredeling remarked it was "just a bottle of soda" and that "we thought the barkeeper should've kept silent" along with admitting the damage was around $14.000.

Royal Family

In a interview with newspaper The Hague Post Vredeling... bluntly defended his decision to cut the budget and explicitly choose for minimalistic procession of a parade with prince Bernhard, which the prince did not take lightly. Vredeling's remarks fuelled the already increasingly not-popular royal family. Vredeling is also remembered as the minister responsible for requesting Prince Bernhard to stop wearing a military uniform in public appearance following the Lockheed Bribery Affair.

“Juliana began to cry. I told her, it's a different coalition now. I told Bernhard. It will be civil manifestation. I decide. And nobody else. He became as gentle as a lamb. A typical kraut. One of "Befehl ist befehl", "gehorsamt ist gehorsamt". He gets off on his uniform.”
Henk Vredeling (1985) 

Coup

NATO secretary general Joseph Luns also didn't escape Vredeling. In the same interview where van der Stoel was ridiculed Vredeling also offended Luns. Luns was revealed in 1992 to have approached PM Den Uyl in August 1975 in The Hague that "a former army general had approached him to remove the Dutch cabinet and make Luns PM after the coup". The general was named but Luns asked to never reveal the name. Van der Stoel suggested that Luns solely told him this in case this plan did go through Luns could not be held criminally liable as he had informed the Dutch government. Van der Stoel did send a copy of this conversation to a secretary-general of his ministry. Luns remarked the general had a specific hate of Vredeling. The plan would've included former army captain and neo-Nazi Raymond Westerling - who already attempted two unsuccessful coups in Indonesia on the order of the CIA in the 1940s - to storm the official residence of President Joop den Uyl and take him and the coalition cabinet hostage.

Former Dutch secretary and Minister of Defence Bram Stemerdink was revealed to have shared this plan in newspaper NRC Handelsblad in 1993, calling it a plan "from disgruntled elements that wanted a strongman back". Multiple generals refuted the claim. Vredeling seemed uninterested in the matter, even when Max van der Stoel was revealed as main Gladio coordiantor from the 1980s, with that group already implicated in trying to assassinate Prime-Minister Cals and Princess Irene.

Hindsight

“I'm also a little bit against the NATO in the way that it's a fremdkörper. It's de facto America. We should view cases more independently.”
Henk Vredeling (1985) 

Vredeling and his motives remain a little bit unknown. He was a direct opponent of the peace movement of the Dutch socialists in his PvdA party and their "new-left" party that was dissatisfied with the increasingly neo-liberal ways of the party. When Vredeling was maintained following a party vote with just 60% of the vote, some radical left elements split which caused Vredeling to call them "the movement that wants to make the trains run on time again. You know what I'm implying? Like Mussolini". Vredeling joined shadow-cabinets full of deep state operatives but also was critical of the US. Whether his alcoholism was just a way for Den Uyl and Israel to use him as a puppet leader will perhaps never be known.

References

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